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Teaching elementary-aged children is a rewarding experience, but as educators and parents, finding the time and resources to create engaging lessons can be a challenge. That's where this podcast comes in. Welcome to Naturally Teaching Elementary.

I'm Victoria Zablocki, a certified elementary teacher turned outdoor educator. With over a decade of experience coaching teachers on effective teaching methods, I'm passionate about teaching the whole child with authentic and place-based experiences in school and home settings. Join me as we explore our strategies for teaching with practical teaching tips, insightful interviews, picture book reviews, and more. So let's grow together.

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Naturally Teaching Elementary Podcast. My name is Victoria Zablocki and I'm your host. Last week in episode 59, I shared seven books about a variety of weather conditions. This week, I'm excited to bring you the beginning of the activities that will fit into a study about weather for learners of all ages, especially during this bizarre time of the year when you'll likely experience a wide range of weather conditions.

So in this episode, I'm going to describe activities for grades kindergarten and third that will fit into a study about weather. For each activity, I'll share the Next Generation Science Standard that inspired that activity, as well as the scientific phenomenon that the activity helps explain. And make sure that you listen through to the end of the episode because even though I've prepared these activities to particular standards, you may find yourself inspired to use a similar concept for your curriculum or even use the same activity for a different grade.

Also, if you're new to taking your students outside for learning, check out Episode 6: 5 Outdoor Education Safety Tips for Teaching Outside, for suggestions to make teaching outside easier. Now let's get into these activities to go along with your study of weather.

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So for kindergarten, the Next Generation Science Standard that I pulled was K-ESS2-1: Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns overtime.

So early childhood learners remember experiences that include movement with their body. It's one of the best ways that they learn. The study of weather can kind of be abstract, especially if they're trying to name weather that they don't have much experience with.

So let's merge the two and give them some movement in their learning to help them try to remember different weather conditions. So my suggestion to go along with this activity is to create an ambulatory or movement cube that your learners can roll and act out different weather conditions. You can assign simple movements that either look like the weather conditions or act like the weather conditions.

As an example, one face of the cube could be rain and the movement would be to fall to the ground. Not only is this fun, which happiness and laughter are a great trigger for memory, but it also gives them a reminder of how rain moves, and that in turn will help them recall the name for that weather condition. Another example would be to have a rainbow on one of the cube faces.

When they roll this picture, have them bend at the waist into a rainbow shape. This movement doesn't mimic the movement of the weather condition, but looks like the result of the weather condition instead. Both types of movement are valuable and will help your kiddos remember what the weather looks like or acts like, allowing for better recall of the weather conditions name.

Once you have the cube developed, you could use it in a few different ways. One way would be to take it on a hike along the sidewalks around your school, or down a trail if you have extensive green space. Explain to your learners that they will be rolling the di and acting out some form of weather.

Have your students roll the di one at a time, and then everyone in the class acts out that weather condition. Try to stay organized with who has rolled and who hasn't. Consider using class numbers if each of your students was assigned one at the beginning of the year, or I used to have students walk in a line, and then after the first person in line rolls the di, they would run to the back of the group.

Either way would work well. Once you have your system down though, make sure each child gets to roll the di. I know from experience that all of your learners are going to want their chance to roll the di, so make sure it happens.

The kinesthetic movements associated with each of those weather conditions will provide your students a whole body learning experience, and will help them recall the information easier at a later date. After having everyone roll the di, finish off the hike by looking at the weather they can see outside. Have them show you with their body what they think the weather looks like that day.

Another way that you could use this cube would be to have it at a center. When the learners are at the center with the cube, they could roll it carefully on the table or on the floor, and then act out each weather condition. You'll want to make sure that you introduce this as a whole group, and then allow them to do it individually at the center.

If you love the sound of this activity, but you don't feel like you have the time to figure out the cube vases, check out my Weather Movement Cube for Kindergarten on Teachers Pay Teachers. It's a print, cut, fold, and glue resource that will get your kiddos moving like weather in no time, and I'll have a link for that in the show notes.

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The Next Generation Science Standard that I pulled for third grade is 3-ESS2-1: Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season. So for third graders, I suggest participating in a citizen science project called CoCoRaHS, which stands for Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network. For this citizen science project, you and your students get to collect and submit precipitation data each day.

This is a low-commitment opportunity to help the scientific community, as well as practice collecting meaningful weather data in an authentic and place-based way. So to get started with this project, this will be like teacher prep. Follow the CoCoRaHS Schools Getting Started link in the show notes.

The page includes a link that takes you to where you need to go to register your school, as well as an example of the format they'd like you to use for registering your school name. They ask that you use your teacher email address, which will become your ID, and you can set your password for login. They also ask for your school's postal address as the location, making note that you don't need to include your latitude and longitude.

They'll take care of that for you. The next step is to acquire a rain gauge, but if you don't think it's in the budget for your classroom, they also provide a contact email for you to reach out to for help in acquiring the correct equipment. Once you've completed the registration information and acquired a rain gauge, there are some training pieces that you can complete to make sure you and your students are providing the most accurate data to the project that you can.

There's a basic training PDF that includes how to set up your rain gauge, how to read your rain gauge, how to measure the water content of snow, measuring new snowfall and snow depth, how to measure sleet, how to measure freezing rain, how to enter your data, how to view your report on the map, how to submit multi-day reports, and how to submit monthly zero data. And if this sounds overwhelming, let me tell you, the doc walks you through it, and most of it is very straightforward. So straightforward, in fact, that an elementary student could do it. Bop, bop, bop, bing.

There's also some training slideshows and videos that share a lot of the same information as the basic training PDF, but they include pictures and more in-depth information if you feel like you need more background before diving into the actual project. And if after all that, you still have some lingering questions, there are some helpful FAQs you can read as well.

There are also more resources, including Gauge Installation Tips, a How to Read Your Gauge Guide, Data Entry Tips, and a Station Identification Sign that you can print and laminate to be able to put out with your rain gauge. And as if that wasn't enough resources, there are also a few lessons that you can do with your class in order to train them on how to gather the correct data to report. So some lessons for elementary age learners include equipment and measurements, registration and data entry, practice reading the rain gauge, a history of the sky, observing climate, when rain rains, and then rain measurements tell a story.

Once you feel comfortable with this project, you can introduce it to your class with the provided lessons or as a whole class practicing collecting and entering the data. Once your class has gotten confident with collecting and entering the data, you could then move the data collection to a class job such as meteorologist and have one or two students each day collect and submit the data so that it's a rotating opportunity for all of your students. And if you're a homeschool parent or you're a teacher with an iPad, CoCoRaHS has free apps both in the Apple App Store as well as the Google Play Store to make your data entry easier.

In all these resources that I mentioned, I have links for in the show notes. So if you're feeling like, whoa, this is a lot of information, don't worry, check out the show notes and you'll find all the links for easy access. This year-long project will help your budding scientists practice data collection and entry in a way that not only refines their skills, but also helps out the scientific community.

They're not just practicing to become scientists with this project, they are true scientists making a difference. Plus, it gives them lots of practice with different kinds of precipitation throughout the seasons.

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So in a nutshell, today we talked about activities for kindergarten and third grade that would contribute to a study about weather. For kindergarten, we talked about creating a weather conditions movement cube that gives your learners a chance to move like weather. And for third grade, we talked about taking precipitation data for the Citizen Science Project, CoCoRaHS.

And don't forget, if you're looking for a made-for-you weather movement cube, check out my Weather Movement Cube for Kindergarten. I also have a weather scavenger hunt and a free printable weather wheel if you'd like to add more outdoor experiences to your weather identification practice.

So thanks for taking time to listen today. I know you're busy and I truly appreciate the time you take to tune in. If you have any questions, wonderings, or weather activities that you use, get a hold of me on Instagram at naturally.teaching, or you can email me at victoria@naturallyteaching.com. And don't forget to check out the show notes for this episode at naturallyteaching.com/episode60 for all the links that I've mentioned. So thanks again for joining me today.

And until next time, keep exploring, keep learning, and keep naturally teaching. Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode of the Naturally Teaching Elementary Podcast. I hope you found it informative, inspiring, and full of actionable insights to enhance your teaching journey.

Connect with me on social media for more updates, science tidbits, and additional resources. You can find me on Instagram and Facebook at naturally.teaching. Let's continue the conversation and share our passion for teaching elementary-age children together.

Don't forget to visit my website at naturallyteaching.com for all the show notes from today's episode. If you enjoyed today's episode, please consider leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback helps me improve and reach more educators like you. Thank you again for listening, and until next time, keep exploring, keep learning, and keep naturally teaching.